Four Years Later

Four Years Later

After returning to Notting Academy from Holy Soul Village, Yin Hao resumed his dull life of "helping" Tang San and Yu Xiaogang during the day and nurturing his relationship with Xiao Wu at night.

But debts still had to be carried, and money still had to be repaid.

Yin Hao had considered competing at the Soul Arena, but the moment he got there, they took one look at him and refused him on the grounds that he was too young.

Until one day, as the rather irritated Yin Hao walked down the street, he suddenly heard people hawking soul beast hides, soul beast meat, and even soul beast... you-know-what. The prices were not low either. Especially the soul beast you-know-what—one from a tiger-type soul beast nearing a thousand years of cultivation could sell for a thousand gold apiece, and demand exceeded supply.

This immediately invigorated Yin Hao, who was carrying an enormous debt. Thousand-year soul beasts might be difficult for him to handle, but what about hundred-year ones? He could first capture some hundred-year soul beasts and sell them to pay off his debts, then gradually raise the Sharingan's level through the System Shop. Once he grew stronger, he could capture higher-level soul beasts and earn more money, then exchange it for a higher-level Sharingan to increase his strength. Once his strength rose, he could capture even higher-level soul beasts...

A beneficial cycle, brothers! Yin Hao seemed to see countless Gold Soul Coins laid out before him.

He acted as soon as he thought of it. From then on, aside from "helping" Tang San and Yu Xiaogang during the day, Yin Hao had another job—earning money in the Soul Hunting Forest!

From then on, a figure that specifically targeted tiger-type soul beasts appeared in Beast Soul Forest. However, after learning that snake gallbladders could also fetch a high price, he added snake-type soul beasts to his hunting list.

Of course, Yin Hao did not kill every soul beast he encountered. He would not bother with low-cultivation soul beasts that were only a few dozen or one or two hundred years old. Their value was simply too low for him to care about.

In the blink of an eye, four years had passed, and Yin Hao was now eleven years old.

Beside a pool in Beast Soul Forest, a handsome blue-haired youth surrounded by two purple rings of light stood atop a massive, entirely blue serpent-dragon over twenty meters long.

Yin Hao normally would not reveal his two purple soul rings, because there was no way to explain them. His first and second soul rings had originally been yellow, yet they had now turned purple. How was he supposed to explain that? Wouldn't they drag him off to slice him up?

Fortunately, with the camouflage skill inherent to the Blue Silver Domain, ordinary people could not see the true color of Yin Hao's soul rings at all. Yin Hao had even spent Gold Soul Coins to strengthen the camouflage skill. Now, even Qian Daoliu could not see through it.

Yin Hao lowered his head and glanced at the Profound Pool Ice Serpent. Over the past four years, whenever this fellow sensed his presence in Beast Soul Forest, it would rush to gather its underlings to capture him.

If not for the Blue Silver Domain serving as an alert system, Yin Hao would probably have died eight hundred times over by now.

Yin Hao looked at the Profound Pool Ice Serpent, which was covered in wounds and no longer had the strength to rise. Regardless of whether it could understand him, he spoke to it.

"You know, over these four years, you've tried to capture me no fewer than a hundred times, right? But what happened in the end? I still won.

"If you ask what you did wrong, there really isn't much. The hatred of killing one's child cannot be shared under the same sky. I can understand why you sought revenge against me.

"But unfortunately, you weren't strong enough, while I grew faster than you did. So you still lost..."

Yin Hao chuckled, paying no heed to the hatred in the Profound Pool Ice Serpent's eyes.

Then, without any ceremony, he sat down on the Profound Pool Ice Serpent's scales beside its enormous head, like a pair of old friends reunited after a long absence... if one ignored the devastation around the pool and the countless wounds covering the Profound Pool Ice Serpent's body.

"Say, little serpent, why go through all this? Look at my first soul ring. This is your son's soul ring. That little Ice Serpent with four hundred years of cultivation has now become a thousand-year soul ring.

"What does that mean? It means I possess a power the world has never mastered. Becoming a god might not be impossible for me. Once I become a god, reviving your son won't be out of the question.

"Look at the situation now. Does this look good to you?"

Yin Hao said a great deal, but the hatred in the Profound Pool Ice Serpent's gaze did not lessen in the slightest. In fact, when Yin Hao deliberately displayed his first soul ring before it, its hatred only deepened.

Then again, it was merely a soul beast with a little over two thousand years of cultivation. Its intelligence had yet to awaken, so how could it understand human speech?

Besides, even if it could understand, the murder of its son was a fact. Given the chance, it would still kill Yin Hao without hesitation.

Seeing this, Yin Hao stopped wasting words on it. With a wave of his right hand, he summoned a Blue Silver Grass Ice Spike.

"This is the ability I gained after absorbing your son's soul ring. Letting you die beneath this ability is the last thing I can do for you..."

After saying that, Yin Hao no longer hesitated. He raised the ice spike and drove it straight down.

The Profound Pool Ice Serpent seemed to understand those words. A trace of remembrance and relief flashed through its eyes as it closed them, allowing the ice spike to pierce its throat.

As the Profound Pool Ice Serpent's life force completely faded away, a purple soul ring appeared before Yin Hao.

Yin Hao sat cross-legged, preparing to absorb the soul ring.

The Profound Pool Ice Serpent was a powerful species capable of rivaling ten-thousand-year soul beasts despite having only a thousand years of cultivation.

Yin Hao had spent tens of thousands of Gold Soul Coins on several hundred Soul Power Bombs to grievously wound it before finally subduing it.

Although Yin Hao had awakened the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline, he had never undergone specialized physical strengthening. Absorbing a soul ring comparable to that of a ten-thousand-year soul beast was still somewhat difficult.

About half an hour later, Yin Hao's forehead was covered in sweat, but fortunately, no mishaps occurred.

Another half hour passed. As he exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, Yin Hao opened his eyes, the corners of his lips curling upward.

"Third Soul Skill, Ice Dragon Decree."

With Yin Hao's shout, countless Blue Silver Grass strands carrying a chilling aura burst from the ground and intertwined in midair. In less than a second, an entirely blue Blue Silver Grass Ice Dragon emanating wisps of cold air appeared before him.

Yin Hao waved his hand forward, and the Ice Dragon immediately reacted. It opened its gaping maw and let out a silent roar before pouncing toward the direction Yin Hao indicated.

The several-meter-long Ice Dragon, claws bared and fangs exposed, crashed into the forest ahead. In an instant, several huge trees thick enough to require a person's arms to encircle were severed at the waist, white cold mist rising from the cut surfaces.

Yin Hao nodded with a smile. He was very satisfied with this power.

"Clap clap clap..."

Just then, a round of applause came from behind Yin Hao.

Yin Hao's expression immediately changed in shock, and he hurriedly turned around.

A girl of seventeen or eighteen stood not far behind him. She wore white clothes embroidered with golden patterns and had short light-brown hair.

What shocked Yin Hao most was that she had approached this close without him noticing her at all.

How could she have evaded the Blue Silver Domain's detection and walked silently behind me?

Yin Hao pondered inwardly.

Her attire and age reminded Yin Hao of someone—the Saintess of Pope Palace, Hu Liena, one of Spirit Hall's three great beauties in the original work.

Yin Hao put on a friendly smile and spoke.

"Who are you, big sister? Is there something you need from me?"

The girl touched her chin and put on a thoughtful expression.

That tiny movement alone made an intangible seductive power seem to emanate from her. If she had lived in ancient times, she would undoubtedly have been another enchantress comparable to beauties like Daji and Diaochan.

(End of Chapter)